Dohmen acquires Siren Interactive, a rare diseases agency

Dohmen Life Sciences Services (DLSS; Milwaukee) has announced the acquisition of Siren Interactive, a Chicago company that produces marketing communications and relationship-management services primarily for pharma companies operating in the rare diseases market. Wendy White, founder and president of Siren, will become an SVP in Dohmen; she is a family member of a rare disease patient herself and a leader in patient advocacy circles for such patients. Price was not disclosed.

DLSS is the recently rebranded conglomeration of a variety of businesses that Dohmen Co. has built up or acquired in the past three years, including Centric Health Resources, a pioneering specialty distributor in ultra-orphan diseases (those affecting a few thousand patients). Other units include DDN, a logistics services provider, and businesses in medical communications, medical device distribution and regulatory affairs. In late 2013, the company sold its PBM business to Catamaran for $410 million. Cynthia La Conte, CEO of DLSS, characterizes the company as “a platform for life science innovators to reach smaller, more targeted patient populations in the most direct and interactive way possible,” with a “bespoke care model” usually funded by service agreements with the pharma manufacturers.

“Our communications and marketing capability combined with Dohmen’s expertise in finance, technology, supply chain, medical and regulatory affairs and patient support services, has the power to really revolutionize the way products and services are developed and delivered to this unique community,” said White, in a statement.